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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26013748">mere exposure (and other excuses)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfdemeanor/pseuds/elfdemeanor'>elfdemeanor</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Getting Together, M/M, Trans Asagiri Gen, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character, Trans Ogawa Yuzuriha, Trauma, more trans characters to come, this is very self indulgent, yes the petrification still happens teehee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:15:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,392</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26013748</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfdemeanor/pseuds/elfdemeanor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Gen's career doesn't work out exactly how he plans, and Senku meets him in a different way.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Asagiri Gen &amp; Ogawa Yuzuriha, Asagiri Gen &amp; Shishiou Tsukasa, Asagiri Gen &amp; Suika, Asagiri Gen/Ishigami Senkuu, Ogawa Yuzuriha/Ooki Taiju</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. perception</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello! first time posting in a while, and first time writing for dcst! sorry if the characters are a bit ooc, gen and senku in particular are really hard to get a handle on.</p><p>this fic is going to contain a lot of heavier subjects later on. a large part of this fic is focusing on how gen's manipulation might have shifted from being a hobby or just an aspect of his personality to a much larger and more vital part of him, used primarily for survival. also, trans gen and many more trans characters to come! i have a Lot of headcanons and yall unfortunately do not have a choice LMAO</p><p>stuff in this chapter:<br/>fake ids, alternating povs, mention of underage drinking, i project onto gen, gen is unnecessarily hot, gen is anxious, chest binding... that's it! it's a pretty light chapter.</p><p>anyway, enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The lights were, to Senku, a little much.</p><p>Holding his hand up to shield his eyes, he surveyed the small basement concert venue that Taiju and Yuzuriha had, after hours of pleading and arguing, managed to drag him to. A bar to his left was mildly populated, patrons trickling over every so often. The standing tables scattered throughout the closer end of the room held a couple people each. The lights were dimmer here, so Senku couldn’t make out all of their faces, but some of the people  surrounding the tables looked a little sketchy. Ultimately, Senku trusted Yuzuriha, and you’d have to be dumb to mess with them while Taiju was right there.</p><p>The stage at the far end of the room, however, was lit with swirling lights, bright pink and green. As Senku glanced over, the lights flickered to different shades of purple. A man who appeared to be the bassist -  taller, broad shoulders, dark brown hair cropped close, a simple, hole-riddled black t-shirt and jeans with sturdy, heeled boots - was making some adjustments on the amp while chatting with some girls who were huddled close to the stage. He could make out some figures towards the back of the stage, but the bright lights in front of them only gave away their silhouettes, nothing more. According to Yuzuriha, this band had blown her mind when she saw them last week and she absolutely <em> had </em> to share it with Taiju and him. He understood why she would bring Taiju along - their crushes on each other became more transparent every day - but he couldn’t exactly grasp why she was so adamant that <em> Senku </em> join them. Sure, he had listened to music before, but he wasn’t particularly attached to it. In the end, despite the effort it took Yuzuriha and Taiju to convince him to come, he was grateful he was here. Maybe this was his chance to prove to his old man that he wasn’t as boring as he accused him to be.</p><p>“C’mon,” Yuzuriha said, dragging Taiju and Senku along. “We should get a closer spot, this place is going to fill up quickly.”</p><p>Senku snorted. “What, you’re not going to buy a drink or something? What’s the point of that fake ID, then?”</p><p>Yuzuriha rolled her eyes in mock frustration, but her sneaky smirk gave her away. “Obviously to be <em> here, </em> dumb-dumb.” They squeezed into a spot about fifteen feet away from the stage, Senku on the left, Taiju on the right, and Yuzuriha excitedly vibrating in the middle. There wasn’t much else to do - Yuzuriha had made sure that they got there in time to get a fairly good spot, so they’d be standing there for another 20 minutes. Senku looked down to see that she was still holding him and Taiju’s arms. “I’m really glad you guys came with,” she said finally. “It’s gonna feel good to share this with you.” Taiju flushed as he and Yuzuriha exchanged soft smiles, and Senku couldn’t stop the swell of pride in his chest as he looked at his two best friends. Yeah, he supposed it would.</p>
<hr/><p>Asagiri Gen was ridiculously proud of the turnout tonight.</p><p>Even with ten minutes before the show was due to start, he could see that there would be more people than last week. It felt like a breakthrough to finally be picking up some momentum. Still, he couldn’t quash the nervousness that bubbled in his guts. Had he warmed up enough? Would Kitaro actually remember the bassline this time? He had saved it well enough last week, but it still wasn’t as good as it could’ve been. He huffed anxiously, wishing he at least had his cards to fiddle with in the meantime. Obviously, his fear was getting the better of him, because he didn’t even notice Ryuji, their lead guitarist, until he clapped him on the shoulder heartily, making him jump.</p><p>“Gen, I could hear you overthinking from across the room,” Ryuji grinned down at him. Gen quickly hid his fidgeting and wiped his face clean of emotion.</p><p>“Ah, Ryuji-chan, I can’t help it,” Gen teased, waving his hand dismissively. “When I think of you messing up those chords again I almost have a brain aneurysm.”</p><p>Ryuji shoved him playfully and chuckled. “I’d love to keep giving you brain damage, but it’s almost time to go. Got everything checked off?”</p><p>“Mic’s adjusted, outfit’s fine, Takeo’s still sober enough, and everyone’s shoes are tied. I think we’ll be set.” He could hear a quiet ‘hey!’ from where Takeo was seated at the drums, making Gen snort. He busied himself with his nails, not wanting to meet Ryuji’s eyes. It felt nice to be around people who were aware of his mannerisms, but only to an extent - it always unnerved him when people knew his routines and thought processes so intimately. He didn’t have enough of an upper hand that way.</p><p>Ryuji nodded. “Oi, Kitaro,” he shouted in the direction of the stage. Kitaro looked up from where he was kneeling at the front of the stage. The small crowd of girls in front of him wilted when his attention was taken from them. “Time to go, dumbass.” Kitaro grumbled unconvincingly. Gen knew they had a soft spot for each other, having been friends since grade school. Kitaro was never good at acting angry toward Ryuji. He chuckled and stepped into the pink light of the stage.</p>
<hr/><p>In all honesty, Yuzuriha was completely right about the band.</p><p>From the very first measure - probably from the first time he actually <em> saw </em> them all, Senku was captivated. The songs they played - mostly original songs, with a few covers thrown - were upbeat and wild, and though they were practiced and refined, the underlying sense of urgency, anger, <em> brutality, </em> was impossible to ignore. It was almost overwhelming. At the climax of one song, the lights cut out entirely, before a bright white light illuminated the band’s silhouettes from behind, creating a sort of halo effect. For such a small band, it was surprising - someone had obviously spent hours designing and testing the effects.</p><p>The band members were all energetic and engaged, and their looks were certainly helping, too. Aside from the bassist he had seen flirting earlier, there was the drummer, a shorter man with light, curly hair that went to his shoulders; the lead guitarist, a little taller than the bassist, with black hair styled in an undercut and an air of casual confidence; and- well.</p><p>They worked well together, each of them acutely tuned-in to the others’ actions, but none more so than the lead singer. Admittedly, he was super hot. He was a slim man, maybe a little taller than Senku, with gripping two-toned black-and-white hair pulled back into a short ponytail. His hip-length, wave-patterned haori fluttered around him as he danced across the stage. His high, clear voice was beautiful and he had clearly spent a lot of time training it, making the times when he put a little grit into it even more enthralling.</p><p>His sense of performance was another beast entirely. The singer drifted around the stage with complete control, carefully timed and practiced movements driving the audience wild. During one particular harmony, he and the guitarist got so close on the same mic that their lips were almost touching, and even though Senku could feel himself blushing, he couldn’t bring himself to look away. He could tell that the singer was well aware of his effect on other people, a discerning, practiced glint in his eyes as he assessed the crowd. He was gorgeous, talented, charismatic, and entirely dedicated to his craft. On paper, he and Senku would get along fantastically.</p><p>The issue was, he <em> infuriated </em> Senku.</p><p>When he finally introduced himself - Gen - and the band - FAE - after the first couple songs, his words were so trained, so filtered, it pissed Senku off unlike anything else. Rationally, Senku knew that each of the band members were putting on a persona to some degree, but when it came to Gen, it was almost as if his persona was a protective layer over his very bones. The extent that the falsehood was ingrained in him made Senku - it made him-</p><p>Well, it was extremely intriguing. Maddening, of course, but Senku was never very good at restraining himself when it came to mysteries. Each time the persona slipped - almost always intentionally, Senku estimated, as Gen seemed too comfortable, too in control of the stage to genuinely slip up - it just made him hungry for more. He wanted to strip away that protective layer and get to the bottom of Asagiri Gen as soon as possible.</p>
<hr/><p>After the final song, they went back into the small rooms that the bar had to change and clean up, each with a desk and a mirror and a couple hooks on the wall. There was also a sink in the corner that Gen didn’t entirely trust, so he usually left it alone. There were three rooms, so Ryuji always made sure that Gen had one to himself, which he was always grateful for. Having a little privacy was a lifesaver after a long show, especially when he needed to just take off his binder and <em>breathe</em>. That wasn’t to say he was particularly tired or irritated today - it was an amazing crowd, that Gen was sure of. They responded beautifully to everything Gen gave them, eating up his presence like it was their first meal in weeks. He always made sure to go out after each show and chat, meet some fans, and have a few drinks. Gen relished the additional attention, and maybe he would even find someone to spend the night with.</p><p>That’s what he told himself, anyway. In truth, visiting with fans after a show was what he felt they were owed - it was a small way for Gen to thank them. Their shows always seemed to attract interesting people, too, so Gen usually found one or two new entertaining people every night. He felt the excitement bubbling in his stomach and took some deep breaths before being interrupted by a knock at the door. “You ready to go, Gen?” Ryuji’s voice called from the hallway.</p><p>“Of course, Ryuji-chan!”</p><p>As he predicted, there were <em> lots </em> of interesting people with this crowd. Gen flitted around the bar, drink in hand, stopping every so often to strike up conversation with a new group of people. The vastness of human experience had always intrigued him, and the folks who gathered at this bar were consistently a great way to observe this. He had chatted so far with a band of young programmers who just happened to stop in after work, two lawyers on their first date who were <em> definitely </em> in love with each other, and even a young woman who was an acrobat who had just gotten done with training. He sighed pleasantly, satisfied with tonight’s haul of entertainment, before his eyes landed on another booth.</p><p>“Now, aren’t you three a little too young to be in here?” He asked coolly, revelling in the shocked look on the three kids’ faces as their heads whipped around to look at him. The young girl stammered, glancing at the other two frantically. Gen chuckled and slid into the booth beside a young man with peculiar hair. “Relax, I’m not gonna snitch. Just here to chat.” They let out a collective sigh of relief, the girl giggling nervously. Gen leaned in, taking a sip from his drink. “Hey, I recognize you. You’ve been to the last three shows, always up front. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Gen.” He noted the way the loud young man next to her scooted closer, almost protectively. <em> Cute. </em></p><p>The young woman’s eyes lit up. “Wow, I can’t believe you remember that! There’s always a pretty big crowd here, I didn’t expect you to be able to pick my face out! I’m Yuzuriha, and these are Taiju and Senku, my best friends.” She gestured to them. Taiju seemed to be quickly warming up to Gen because of Yuzuriha’s excitement, while Senku appeared… almost irritated. <em> Cute. </em></p><p>Gen’s eyes narrowed. “Well, well, you two are new here. Not a fan of crowds, Senku-chan?”</p><p>Senku smirked over the rim of his glass - water, Gen observed. This group was too much. “You sure got comfortable quickly.”</p><p>“Oh? Are you uncomfortable, Senku-chan?” Gen’s eyes glinted and he smiled sharply at the young man, who sat up straighter in turn, meeting Gen’s eyes challengingly.</p><p>“It’s going to take a lot more than that to make me unc-”</p><p>“Gen! Time to head out,” Ryuji called, making his way over to the table and interrupting Senku in the process. Gen checked his phone quickly, eyes widening upon seeing that it was already almost two in the morning.</p><p>“Ah, I have to go.” Gen sighed. “You guys aren’t familiar with the area, are you?” Yuzuriha and Taiju shook their heads, while Senku stared into his glass.</p><p>“How’d you know?” Yuzuriha asked, eyes wide and trusting. <em> Cute. </em></p><p>“If you were, you’d know not to drink the tap water,” his fingers danced on the rim of Senku’s glass experimentally. “Tastes like shit, right?” Senku looked up, studying Gen’s face, before glancing away suddenly. Gen pulled a marker and a pad of paper out of his pocket - he’d always hoped someone would want an autograph, but he supposed this would do, too - and wrote carefully, ripping the sheet off and sliding it to the center of the table. “If you need help getting home, or even if you just want to talk, feel free to text me. Now shoo, can’t have you staying up past your bedtime, now, can we?”</p><p>Yuzuriha took the paper carefully, almost as if she didn’t believe it was real, before Gen’s last words caught up to her. “Hey, we’re not babies!” she yelled. Gen chuckled, turning around to walk towards Ryuji and waving the group of high schoolers off. <em> Very </em> cute.</p><p>“Meet any fun people tonight?” Ryuji asked as soon as Gen caught up to him. Gen was sure he heard a hint of knowingness in his question, but was too emotionally exhausted to tease him back.</p><p>“Mm,” he hummed affirmatively. “A few.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>alrighty, first chapter down! im going absolutely Feral</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. double-blind</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>apocalypse, baby!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>heyyyy yaaaall</p><p>its been a Minute! sorry about that. i won't make promises for the future because i'm not sure how things will go.</p><p>anyway, stuff for this chapter:<br/>surprise! i project onto gen again, mention of zombies, mention of nukes, mention of Hell, Jesus, and praying, fear of being buried alive, fear of being exposed and vulnerable, gen has a panic attack, gen's brain is awful to him, run-on sentences, fear of dying, fear of drowning, capitalism, landlords, gen wakes up partially naked in front of someone else and is outed as trans, mention of being forcibly outed to others, minor social dysphoria mention, i use the same words over and over again, mentions of animal skins... i think that covers it. lmao.</p><p>so! i hope yall enjoy reading this chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it. gen is such a unique character, it's so interesting to mess around with his circumstances and see how he ends up.</p><p>thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A little more than a week later, the apocalypse happened.</p><p>Despite how crazy it was - and a bright green light causing everyone on Earth to turn to stone was <em> definitely </em> crazy - it wasn’t very exciting, at least not to Gen. It was heartbreaking, sure; he had just enough time before he was petrified to glance over at Ryuji and witness the look of helplessness, of dread, on his face. He remembers a fleeting thought passing through his mind, like a whisper - <em> Ryuji is a person who should never be in that much pain. </em></p><p>However, it wasn’t like there were zombies or nuclear bombs, at least not as far as he knew. There certainly couldn’t be a god behind this whole thing, otherwise Gen would be burning in Hell right now, unless-</p><p>Okay, so Gen might be in Hell.</p><p><em> Although, </em> his miserable brain supplied, <em> if that were true, Hell </em> definitely <em> is not as entertaining as we were led to believe it would be. </em></p><p>During the first couple days (maybe it was hours, even just minutes; he had no way to tell), Gen did all he could to stay ‘awake’, convinced that the worst thing that could happen in this particular situation was falling unconscious - open and exposed to whatever the outside world had waiting for him.</p><p>He went through his sets in his head, worked through some lyrics for upcoming songs he was planning, made next week’s grocery list. Logically, he knew that even if he <em> was </em> conscious, there was nothing he could do to defend himself. He had tried everything he could think of to break himself out which, admittedly, was not a whole lot, but still he was trapped. So Gen, as best as he could, stayed conscious, his thoughts ricocheting around his skull, as if the stone that encased his body was somehow constricting his mind, too. Soon, though, he found himself suffocating under the weight of his own thoughts - his brain tortured him with the idea of a faceless man standing above his shattered, unaware body, and how could a man with no features have such a <em> monstrous </em> look on his face - with no other stimuli to distract him, all he could do was think and think and think and think and-</p><p>Ah, yes. Gen was certain now. He was being buried alive; someone was killing him. The weight of the entire world was being piled on him by someone, he could <em> feel </em> it, a phantom pressure smothering his whole body and of course no one was coming for him. His heart hammered in his chest as though trying to break him free from his prison of a body, but to no avail. He was going to die trapped in his own consciousness and stuck with the knowledge of everything he’d ever done, every sin he’d ever committed, the knowledge that everything in his entire life had been a lie to keep others out, and for what? It certainly wasn’t to keep himself safe, otherwise he wouldn’t have spent his life sabotaging himself at every fucking turn. <em> It’s a little ironic, </em> his adrenaline-wracked brain piped up through the chaos, his last gnarled thoughts before sinking into decades, centuries, millennia of dreamless, death-like sleep. <em> You’ve spent your whole life running from your body and now, as a punishment, as a reckoning, as a death sentence, Asagiri Gen, you’re going to spend eternity rotting in it. </em></p>
<hr/><p>Suddenly, Gen’s consciousness was yanked forward. If his mind had sunken into a deep, endless ocean up until now, someone had, without warning, harpooned him and wrenched him back to the surface. For some reason, his first impulse was to cough up the water that he hadn’t been drowning in. From what he could see, he was somewhere deep in the middle of a forest - there were no buildings or even walking paths. It was honestly pretty beautiful; the sun filtered through the leaves, creating a kind of glow. Maybe it was just his eyes adjusting. It didn't last, though; a shadow loomed over him, blotting out the sun, and he braced for whatever impact was coming.</p><p>In his haste, he let his composure slip and brought his hands up to protect his face (or maybe to cover his eyes, to hide), something that didn’t go unnoticed by the man in front of him. “Gen,” the man said, placing a cautious hand on his bare shoulder- <em> on his bare shoulder- </em></p><p>The man seemed to notice how he flinched at that, too. “Sorry,” the man grunted, before he swiftly removed his hand and pulled forward a cloth that Gen hadn’t even noticed was on him - a robe? Gen finally lifted his eyes and smiled at the man in front of him.</p><p>“Ah, Tsukasa-chan!” Gen beamed. “It’s been a while, huh~?”</p>
<hr/><p>This waiting room, somehow, smelled <em> suffocating. </em> It was warm and stuffy and the walls were the most boring shade of white and all the magazines they had were from, like, 2012. Thus, Gen was left to shuffle his cards and size up his competitors while the minutes ticked by. Truthfully, he <em> desperately </em> needed this audition to work out. He was only seventeen, but he already had a mountain of bills slowly piling up in the corner of his room and he didn’t know how much longer he could afford to keep ignoring them. So as he glanced around the room as stealthily as he could, he prayed that the rest of these guys would mess up and somehow he’d end up on top. <em> Yes, </em> the universe would <em> absolutely </em> get him back for that, but at the moment, capitalism’s threats outweighed karma’s.</p><p>Maybe he wouldn’t even need to pray for his competitor’s failures. Some of these folks  - well, Gen wasn’t too concerned. Everyone else had gone already except for Gen and three other people. In the corner was a man who literally looked like he was about to piss his too-big leotard. He had dropped his baton a total of four times now and he wasn’t even practicing. A couple seats away from the leotard man was a very young girl, couldn’t be older than ten. She had probably been forced to be there by the overconfident and overbearing woman who sat next to her, chattering away about how the judges would be fools not to see her talent. The girl had her eyes trained on the floor, but Gen could still see that she was nervous to the point of tears. Jesus. Gen was almost tempted to pray for her success, but… </p><p>The only person who he was really nervous about was a man who sat two seats away from him. He was, to put it lightly, unnecessarily large. He was hunched over in the chair, which was <em> way </em> too small for someone of his stature, and his elbows were resting on his knees. Gen had no idea what talent he was even supposed to be showcasing, the man didn’t have any props with him. He wasn’t even very dressed up; sure, he looked nice in his gray long-sleeved shirt and dark jeans, but compared to Gen, who had dressed in his best (and only) suit like his life depended on this audition (because it kind of did), the man beside him looked a little too casual.</p><p>At that moment, the man’s eyes flicked over to his, which scared Gen so badly that the cards he had been shuffling went <em> everywhere, </em> and Gen scrambled to pick them up. “Ah, sh-”</p><p>“Don’t curse,” came a voice that was much deeper and <em> much </em> closer than Gen could’ve predicted. He looked up and met the gaze of the man for a second time, only now he was just inches away from him. He was crouched next to Gen, gathering some of the cards. “There are children here.” The man tipped his head in the direction of the girl.</p><p>“Ah~ right. Good job catching that,” Gen accepted the other half of his now neatly-stacked deck from the man. “Thank you, mystery man!” he chirped, giving the cards a quick shuffle.</p><p>“Tsukasa.”</p><p>“Nice to meet you, Tsukasa-chan! You can call me Gen,” he held out his hand, which was then completely enveloped by Tsukasa’s in a firm, but not painful, handshake. <em> Okay, this is getting ridiculous. </em></p><p>“Hm,” Tsukasa replied cleverly. <em> Not one for words, huh? </em> They sat back down again, this time with one less chair between them.</p><p>“What talent are you showcasing, Tsukasa-chan?” Gen said innocently, hoping to pry a little more information out of him. He tilted his head slightly and widened his eyes just so to complete the effect.</p><p>Silence hung between them for a second before Tsukasa finally replied, “Strength.” Gen snorted. “What?” the man said-bordering-on-snapped.</p><p>“Ah, sorry, Tsukasa-chan, I didn’t mean to laugh, but I honestly should’ve guessed that, huh? I don’t know if you’ve ever been told this before, but you’re practically a giant,” Gen smiled as he reached over and patted Tsukasa’s arm.</p><p>“What about you?”</p><p>“Hm?”</p><p>“Your talent.”</p><p>“Ah,” Gen replied, wondering how much he should divulge. “I guess you could call me a magician.”</p><p>“You guess?”</p><p>“Well, there’s a little more to it than that.”</p><p>Tsukasa nodded, which Gen, turning back to his cards, believed signalled the end of their conversation, but Tsukasa surprised him again. “What else is there to it?” <em> Interesting. </em></p><p>“Oh~? Want to become my apprentice, Tsukasa-chan?” Gen teased as he leaned in and pitched his voice slightly higher, but was met with a rather dry look. <em> Worth a shot. </em> “I prefer the term mentalist. Doing magic tricks is one thing, but it takes a little more than that to truly perform, don’t you think?”</p><p>“So you manipulate people,” Tsukasa observed coldly.</p><p>“Now you’re getting it!” Gen beamed, hoping his tone didn’t betray his nervousness. “That’s what performing is all about, don’t you think?” Tsukasa didn’t respond. His hair had fallen forward and covered his expression. “Oh~? Does Tsukasa-chan not care for manipulation?”</p><p>Tsukasa remained silent for a little longer. “Not particularly,” he responded finally. <em> Still talking. Good sign. </em></p><p>Gen nodded, feigning thoughtfulness. “That’s a natural reaction, but I don’t think manipulation is necessarily bad.” Tsukasa peered up at him again, which Gen took as a sign to continue. “You see, Tsukasa-chan, when you perform, your whole goal is to manipulate the audience into not only believing your performance, but <em> enjoying </em> it.” Gen allowed his gaze to slide over to the man, who was now staring at the floor.</p><p>“Hm.”</p><p>“Plus, no one shows the absolute truth of who they are to every person, right? We manipulate people during every interaction, and sometimes that manipulation is necessary for survival. We have to manipulate people during job interviews or during interactions with superiors… hey, we even have to manipulate these people,” Gen gestured toward the door that led to the audition room, “in order to get a chance, right?” He smiled gently and lifted his eyebrows just the slightest bit, before tilting his head forward and bringing himself further into Tsukasa’s line of sight. This new angle allowed him to see the way his jaw clenched. <em> Jackpot </em>.</p><p>“...I see.”</p><p>Just then, the door swung open and a severe-looking woman stepped through. “Asagiri Gen?” Gen looked up and met her eyes. “We’ll be seeing you now.”</p><p>“Ah~” Gen stood up and stretched, flipping through his deck one last time. Oh, right - Tsukasa. If he was being completely honest - which he wasn’t - he really enjoyed waiting here with Tsukasa. The anxiety that had previously been consuming him had become an afterthought, and… well, the other stuff wasn’t really important, was it? “That’s me! Wish me luck, Tsukasa-chan~” He caught Tsukasa’s gaze once more and winked playfully.</p><p>The larger man’s reply was quiet, almost inaudible, but Tsukasa’s deep voice carried a little better in the tiny room - “Good luck, Gen.”</p><p>Gen faltered for a moment, completely caught off-guard, before giving the most genuine smile he had in quite a while. “Thanks!” With his props gathered neatly in his arms, he strolled into the menacing audition room after the woman. Even though he didn’t spare a glance back at the room, the pressure of Tsukasa’s stare lingered on his back. It was one of those rare moments where, even if it was just for a second, all the dread that he focused forward, toward what was coming next was tuned out.</p><p>He didn’t get a callback.</p>
<hr/><p>Really, he was super grateful that Tsukasa had thought to bring him a robe. He was still a little embarrassed that he had seen him, but it seemed that Tsukasa had covered him up fairly quickly. He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts again when he spied a young girl, colorless and immobilized, through the trees. “Wait, Tsukasa-chan, are we the only ones that have broken free…?” He tried his best to keep his voice from wavering, but seeing someone else with the same look on her face, that same panic that he imagined he had worn that whole time… he felt- well, he felt <em> something </em> welling up in his chest at the sight of it..</p><p>“No,” Tsukasa replied. “I haven’t revived many people so far, but I…” He went quiet for a second, eyebrows furrowing. “I didn’t know how comfortable you would be with other people knowing, so I carried you out here and hid you.”</p><p>Gen looked away, suddenly very interested in the flowers that spotted the forest floor. He couldn’t stop from flushing, filled with unexpected gratitude. “Ah,” was all he could manage to spit out. He said a silent thanks in his head, hoping that somehow Tsukasa would get the message. “So how long has it been?”</p><p>Tsukasa abruptly stopped and Gen turned around to face him. For some reason, Tsukasa refused to return his gaze. In the silence, Gen could feel his heart writhe in his chest.</p><p>“It… has been 3,700 years.”</p><p>This time Gen didn’t even attempt to hide his quivering voice. “Then… the current year is…”</p><p>The larger man nodded. “5739.” </p><p>Gen was too shocked to be embarrassed by the audible gasp he let out. “Tsukasa…”</p><p>“I know.”</p><p>He steeled himself, quickly grabbing hold of the emotions that wracked his body right now and flattened them back. This was no time to process - he’d do that… he’d do that eventually. Maybe. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear and plastered on a weary smile, cheery but not detached. A hint of sadness, but not misery. Falling apart now would make him look incompetent, but by appearing totally unaffected, he would seem a little too fake. Untrustworthy. “Well,” he chirped, “I don’t know how long you’ve been rebuilding, but show me what our new world looks like!” It was hard to miss the glint of suspicion in those serious eyes as he nodded and continued walking. It was difficult to guess what was coming, but Gen took advantage of the long walk to brace for whatever challenges he would be thrown into.</p><p>The camp was… well, it was better than nothing. The other people at camp strolled around in small groups carrying blankets, skins, and food. They were all dressed in surprisingly well-made leather clothes, some even of different colors. Surprisingly, everyone seemed to be generally in the same age range. <em> Maybe they didn’t want the burden of caring for young kids or seniors yet? </em></p><p>“Wow~ look at this! Things are going pretty smoothly already! I can’t believe how far we’ve come!” Gen crooned, watching Tsukasa carefully. There was that look again - he was starting to put together a pattern, but it was still a little too early to tell. “Hope you don’t work me too hard, Tsukasa-chan~”</p><p>The man in front of him grunted. “It’s not very difficult. Mostly getting food.” Gen hummed in response and peered around. It seemed Tsukasa was the only familiar face around here; he couldn’t help but deflate a little at that. He suddenly felt a tug of self-consciousness and crossed his arms in front of his chest. With all these new people - with this new <em> society </em> - he had a chance to completely reinvent himself. The next few days, weeks, maybe even months, were going to be a series of introduction after introduction after introduction. So many chances to mess up, to start off on the wrong foot - fucking this up again was not an option. He watched the long-haired man’s back as he tread in front of him. His head was fixed straight ahead, his large hands closed in fists. Something was very, very wrong here, and it scared the shit out of him.</p><p>Tsukasa led them through camp and eventually they arrived at a cave. It wasn’t lavish by any means - a bed in the corner, almost nest-like, and a few furs scattered around it. There was a small fire closer to the entrance that was dying out. “Have a seat,” Tsukasa murmured, keeping his head down as he tended to the fire. Gen settled on one of the furs and tucked his feet under him. He forced himself to act as distracted and innocently curious as he could, but he couldn’t stop himself from examining Tsukasa. It had been two years since he had last seen Tsukasa - give or take a couple millenia - and Tsukasa had obviously grown stronger. Taller. His hair had grown longer, now even more prone to falling in his face. Even if his demeanor was totally friendly, being around him was like standing in front of a bulldozer. The knowledge that at any time Tsukasa could change his mind and crush him - it was impossible to ignore.</p><p>All at once, Gen became acutely aware of the lion skin he was perched on. In this world, people like him were defenseless against forces like Shishio Tsukasa.</p><p>When Tsukasa was done, he crossed the cave and sat near Gen - a little too far away. Distanced.</p><p>“So,” Gen started. “You have something to ask of me.” It wasn’t a question.</p><p>Tsukasa raised his eyes to meet his and Gen fought to contain the shiver that ran through him. “There’s something I need you to do.”</p><p>“Anything, Tsukasa-chan~”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thanks again ! if you feel like it, throw a review or kudos my way! i thrive on attention</p>
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